Jean François MilletFrench, 1814–1875The Bather
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Bather” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Washington, D.C., United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1949.1.9
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
In the life of Jean François Millet
The whole lifeApril 1844
The death of his wife Pauline from consumption
After marrying Pauline-Virginie Ono in 1841 he moved with her to Paris; after rejections at the Salon of 1843 and Pauline’s death by consumption in April 1844, Millet returned again to Cherbourg.
1845
Meeting Catherine Lemaire and her portrait
In Cherbourg he met Catherine Lemaire, a former maidservant, and painted her portrait in 1845; she later bore him nine children.
mid-1840s
Friends in Paris: Rousseau, Daumier, Sensier
In Paris in the middle 1840s Millet befriended Constant Troyon, Narcisse Diaz, Charles Jacque and Théodore Rousseau, artists later associated with the Barbizon school; Honoré Daumier, whose figure draftsmanship influenced his rendering of peasant subjects; and Alfred Sensier, a government bureaucrat who became a lifelong supporter and eventually his biographer.
June 1849
The move to Barbizon
In June 1849 Millet settled in Barbizon with Catherine and their children.
1850
An arrangement with Alfred Sensier
In 1850 Millet entered into an arrangement with Sensier, who provided the artist with materials and money in return for drawings and paintings, while Millet remained free to sell work to other buyers.
1850
The Salon of 1850: “The Sower” and “Haymakers”
At that year’s Salon he exhibited “Haymakers” and “The Sower”, his first major masterpiece and the earliest of the iconic trio of paintings that also included “The Gleaners” and “The Angelus”.
![Ginevra de' Benci [obverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/8f29e3c9-a289-4d53-abf0-31a66e9e98fa/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat [reverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/ff62e8d0-45c4-498f-ad36-6358de827e04/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
